


Dia de Muertos

by m_gilastorm, miranda_gilastorm (m_gilastorm)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Day of the Dead, F/M, Halloween, Hell, Mission Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 13:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12532384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_gilastorm/pseuds/m_gilastorm, https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_gilastorm/pseuds/miranda_gilastorm
Summary: Daisy is on a mission to bring in an inhuman in Mexico during the Dia de Muertos celebration in Mexico. She doesn't expect Robbie to show up.





	Dia de Muertos

**Author's Note:**

> So this is not only my first QuakeRider fic, it's my first fic ever... I haven't been writing in a while and I'm so glad I was challenged to do this by @fierysky! Sorry if it's as terrible as I think it is, but I always hate everything I write.

Daisy huffed into her horchata, flinging herself back into the cushion of her seat. Of course she would have to go on assignment on Halloween and of course it would be to Mexico, where she couldn't even make it back to the base in time for the party - the party that she had planned! She huffed again.

"If you fling yourself into that seat any harder, you might knock it over," May's voice radiated through her comm. Daisy made a face, somewhat embarrassed she was letting her disappointment get the better of her, especially in full view of her CO who was seated in another shop across the street.

"I just don't understand why you and I have to be out here, in some village whose name I can't even pronounce, while the rest of the team gets to enjoy the party I've spent the better part of this month planning," she whined into the comm, keeping her cup of the iced cinnamon drink close to her lips.

"Coulson told you. There's a potential inhuman in the area, supposedly very powerful, very dangerous. He sent his best two agents to handle the situation." May was right, of course. There weren't many things the two of them couldn't handle. Daisy huffed into her drink again. She looked out the window to the dusk-lit street as people were lighting their candles and incense on their altars and leaving flowers and food for the spirits of their loved ones. Children were wandering the streets, skulls painted on their faces, and the little girls had roses woven into crowns in their hair. Several people were giving skull-shaped candies to the children while parents paid their respects to the departed.

Daisy drained the last of her drnk, grimacing at the amount of cinnamon that had settled at the bottom, resisting the urge to cough as it scratched at her throat. She stood and left the cafe she'd been reclining in for most of the afternoon, crossing the street to join May where she'd been doing much of the same in what looked like a restaurant of some kind.

"I guess this is our cue," May said and Daisy nodded. The parades had ended and the sunset rituals were beginning. Their intel said the asset would likely join the festivities, their abilities somehow tied to spiritual happenings. Daisy just hoped that meant whoever it was didn't have any plans for collateral damage. The two agents walked together through the growing crowds, Daisy trying to ignore the sneaking familiarity that came with seeing people everywhere with skulls for faces. At least they weren't on fire. May glanced across at her as they passed yet another group of children with painted faces.

"You good?" she asked. Daisy nodded, not meeting her gaze. Of course May could see straight through her. There was no point in trying to deny anything, but it had been months since Robbie had left to hide or destroy the Darkhold. She needed to be capable of completing her missions, whether something reminded her of him or not. They continued down the main street for a time, watching as the townspeople gathered around their altars, stopped in the shops, or simply grouped together, moving towards... Daisy noticed the pattern in the crowd, finally, and her eyes followed, resting on a cemetery where people were leaving yet more flowers, candles, incense, and foods.

"Look. There," Daisy lifted her chin toward the cemetery, drawing her CO's attention to it. The path was lined with marigolds, and it was far more crowded than either of them would have liked. They exchanged looks and May motioned wordlessly for them to split up.  Daisy disappeared into the crowd, not bothering to watch where May went. She moved off the path, outside of the yellow and red marigolds, taking the long way to the graves where families were gathering. If their inhuman was around, they'd show here, perhaps placing flowers or food for the departed, or lighting candles on the graves. This festival was when the spirits of those who were gone were supposed to be able to come back and spend time with the family left behind. Daisy pushed away the longing this kind of celebration brought. She focused, breathing the way May had trained her, aware of herself and the faces around her, though most of them were painted like skulls. Most.

She started searching for the outliers. She noticed May, already in the cemetery, in her street clothes and now carrying flowers, looking vaguely as though she were searching for a name on a gravestone. Most others were in groups, either in pairs or with children with their faces painted. She noted those few who were on their own, assuming the asset would be among their number. For the most part, they were all gathered at graves, hoping to commune with lost loved ones. A few moved silently, appearing as if they were priests of some sort, walking the perimeter of the cemetery and lighting incense, still others placed and lit lanterns. Their asset would not be among their number, either.

The atmosphere had changed with the sunset, candles being the greatest source of lighting among the graves and crowd, while the lanterns were lit sporadically throughout the graveyard. There was a warmth to the festival. Families chattered and children screeched with joy while parents shared stories of the loved ones they were there to commune with. May's voice came through her comm.

"You see the dark jacket hovering in the corner?" Daisy's attention was drawn to a woman, standing deliberately outside of the lantern light, dark hood drawn up to cover her hair. Unlike most of the celebrants in the cemetery, her face was plain and unpainted. A slight flicker of light near the woman's hands had Daisy moving toward her.

"It's her," she called into the comms. She tugged at her loose jacket sleeves that covered her gauntlets. Both she and May ducked out of the lantern light, toward the outskirts of the graves, near the low wall that marked the edge of the cemetery, avoiding the priests walking their circles and offering their prayers. The inhuman woman lowered her hood from lilac hair and the same eerie light sparked in her eyes, glowing a faint violet. May stopped short, and Daisy followed suit, closer to the asset, reaching out, preparing to quake her if needed.

The violet light gathered at her hands, as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, looking as though she were listening for something only she could hear. Daisy suddenly felt nauseous and lightheaded, as though she could sense an earthquake about to hit.

"Something's about to happen!" she shouted into her comm. She couldn't think of how to explain to May, but she knew to warn her. As the tremors started, the purple light intensified at the inhuman's hands, crackling at her open palms. Screams and gasps started coming from the celebrants gathered and Daisy glanced around, only to see pale, purple, flickering images of what looked like ghosts. She groaned.

"Not again," she muttered. Hadn't they had enough of this nonsense with the Darkhold? May's attention had shifted toward the shocked crowd, and was starting to tell people they needed to leave, starting with those nearest to Daisy and the asset. Daisy took several cautious steps towards her, hands still extended. The woman still just stood with her head tossed back, eyes closed, hands glowing in that strange violet light. As she approached, the tremors grew in intensity, and it was like screeching in Daisy's head.

"Hey!" Daisy shouted at her, hoping to get her attention, "Hey, can I talk to you?" She winced, hoping this inhuman spoke English. Maybe they should have brought Elena. Her eyes opened. They were flickering with the same purple energy. Daisy took it as an opportunity.

"Hey, I'm Daisy." The inhuman lowered her chin to look at Daisy, crackling violet staring at her, so she pressed on. "Can you understand me? What's your name?" The woman stood remarkably still, despite her own powers causing the ground to tremble beneath her. She just stared at Daisy with her eyes crackling and hands glowing while somehow the ghost-things shimmered, as if they were fading in and out of this dimension. That made sense. Their report had said her powers were related to spiritual energy. They neglected to include that this inhuman might be able to created breaches between dimensions. A brief image of the last portal between dimensions flashed in her memory. Daisy grimaced and willed it away. She couldn't deal with that and the pain from the quakes that came with the inhuman's attempts to allow these spirits in from wherever they were.

"Daisy Johnson." The woman's voice set Daisy on edge. It sounded as though hundreds of other voices were speaking with her, all at once. All around them, the flickering spirits seemed to gain clarity, glowing the same violet as the inhuman woman's hands and eyes. May's voice was saying something in the comm but Daisy couldn't hear her over the ringing in her head from the earthquakes the inhuman was causing. The energy from her hands was building, starting to expand, glowing too bright to look at directly, every so often, discharging and shooting off at random, looking like purple lightning. 

"Yeah, that's right. I'm Daisy Johnson. You know my name, what's yours?" Another tremor rattled the cemetery and Daisy couldn't stand it, so she fought to absorb it instead. The screeching in her ears died down a little. Now she could hear May talking to someone else, but not through the comm. She must have been calling for backup. That would make sense. Another discharge from the inhuman's hands shot out. Debris from a grave flew towards Daisy and she quaked it away. The air behind the woman started to ripple. Daisy was running out of time to talk her down. The inhuman raised her hands and the lightning sparked and crackled, lashing out in all directions.

"Can you hear them? I can hear them all. They want through." Hundreds of voices spoke as violet energy continued to build and some kind of haze flowed out from her, rippling and looking like reality might shatter any minute now. Yet another tremor racked the graveyard, sending Daisy to her knees. Then May was there, wrapping arms around her waist and helping her stand.

"Hey chica, you good?" It wasn't May.

\---------------------------------------

Something was wrong. All around him, the inhabitants of this dimension were still. They could sense it too. Before, the stale air had been so cold it burned, but now the air was beginning to feel fresh, as if there were a draft and an autumn breeze were ready to blow through at any minute. The Rider growled with suspicion, angry at the delay in his killing spree. Robbie could feel reality tearing, and not because he was creating a portal. The hell dimension was starting to fade, and he could see what looked like a town, almost as though he were looking through purple stained glass. Screams from both sides, the hell dimension and the town, reached him as he saw the images of pale translucent spirits glimmering in the distance. From where he was in his hell, everything on the other side was cast in some kind of purple haze, but it was steadily growing clearer.

The Rider was still in control, roaring in fury, and Robbie thought maybe they were in agreement, for once. All these demons, these souls he had burned, they couldn't be allowed through. The Rider wouldn't have it. He already had his chain out, sparks flying as the portal flamed into being. The screeching of the metal filled the air more than the heat from the portal itself did. The chain revealed that same village from before, an empty street lined with red and yellow marigolds leading toward a graveyard, where he could vaguely see flashes of what looked like purple lightning. He stepped through the portal, the Rider relinquishing control as he did. He could feel the warm sensation of his skin melting back over the Rider's skull, tingling as the embers faded away. The light jangle of the chain rang out as it wrapped his torso and he rolled his shoulders, loosening atrophied muscles. He breathed in and the air tasted of autumn and incense and the remnants of the tang of heated metal from his portal.

The earth trembled slightly under his boots and Robbie had to fend off any thoughts of Daisy. He didn't have time to be pining over Quake. The Rider's growl at the back of his mind forced him to move forward, up the marigold-lined street leading to the cemetery that seemed to be the epicenter of the tear in the dimensions. As he approached the cemetery, his senses were assaulted with the smoke from snuffed out candles and the sickly sweetness of incense. He could see the flickering glow of the spirits that were trying to cross through. The Rider was roaring in his head at the sight of them. He stepped into the graveyard as yet another tremor rattled the ground, knocking candles and food offerings flying.

The ghosts began gaining clarity, their pale flickering purple settling into forms of a solid violet energy, too similar the lightning shooting from the other corner of the cemetery to be coincidental. He reached for the nearest figure, planning to burn it like he had those others so many months ago.

"Hey, I'm Daisy." His hand stopped short and the Rider raged against his control, wanting nothing more than to kill again and wreak vengeance as it blazed through these spirits that did not belong. Daisy. Robbie stood frozen to the spot, staring over toward whatever was the source of the walls between dimensions fading. He was sure he'd heard her voice. Then there was another familiar voice speaking to him. He turned, ready to pull his chain loose from where it was wrapped around his body, only to see Agent May. She was dressed in civilian clothes, but her icer was in the holster at her hip, and he was sure she had her service weapon under her jacket too. She quirked her eyebrow at his defensive stance and he relaxed, making a show of lowering his hands.

"Nice of you to drop by," she said, remarkably calm despite the earthquakes and lightning threatening them. Robbie straightened. Her posture almost suggested she had been expecting him.

"You seemed like you could use a little help." May stared blankly at him. At least she wasn't glowering. She turned away from him toward the corner of the cemetery where the energy was too bright for Robbie to make anything out clearly.

"Daisy's trying to talk the inhuman down now. We're not entirely sure what it is she's doing," she motioned to the spirits filling the graveyard, "but we know she feeds on spiritual energy." Robbie nodded.

"I could sense someone releasing spirits. It's why I'm here." The agent looked at him, probably inferring that he had been in the dimension where these ghosts were coming from. She moved her hand and he could see she was addressing her comm. "Daisy, civilians are clear. If you need to engage, do it." May paused, waiting for a response. The light from where the two inhumans were intensified, and Robbie had to look elsewhere. May was trying Daisy on the comm again.

"Daisy. Repeat. You are clear to engage." The brief ripple of worry that flashed over the agent's face told him that there was still no response from Daisy. The Rider was there, whispering to him that it meant it was time to fight, that she needed him. As loathe as he was to admit it, the idea had its merits. It wouldn't be the first time the Rider had used saving Daisy as an excuse to take over and kill.

Wordlessly, he turned from May and her quiet glare and reached for the nearest ghost-energy-thing. Pain shot through his arm as he made contact. The Rider bellowed in his head, leaving little room for anything else. He could feel his control fading as the fire seared through his him, scorching his every nerve. The ghost sparked and crackled at his touch and he could feel it fighting the Rider's power. Finally, the Rider won out and it burst in a blinding flash of violet energy. He smirked, pleased though his arm was still tingling as if he'd been electrocuted.

Another quake began and both Robbie and May braced themselves against gravestones, preparing to ride it out. But it didn't last. Robbie glanced over at the agent. She nodded.

"Daisy," was all she said. He nodded back and they moved toward the far end of the cemetery, May taking care to avoid any contact at all with the ghosts and Robbie tugging his chain from its place wrapped around his torso. He remembered Daisy telling him May had died briefly because of her last run in with a ghost - it made her calm in the situation all the more impressive. She moved behind him as flames danced along the links of his chain, allowing him to burn and eliminate the spirits in front of them, filling the air with that same tangy smell of heated metal as they made their way toward where Daisy was. It was easier with the chain. There was no pain and he was more able to keep the Rider at bay. Then they stood as close to Daisy and the other inhuman as May dared, it seemed. His chain flung itself around his body again, extinguishing of its own accord as it did. They'd cleared a path, but there were still too many spirits around for either of their comfort.

"We need to let her keep trying to talk her down. We're not here to just eliminate the threat." Robbie couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Rider was screaming for blood in his head, wanting to end the woman who was threatening his vengeance.

"You can't be serious. She's going to level this entire town!" He winced, realizing he could have been talking about either of the inhuman women. "I mean, she's trying to tear open the hell dimension and let all these," he gestured to the ghosts behind her, "out."

"Daisy knows what she's doing. I trust her judgement." May looked over toward the blinding purple light and saw more of the violet energy discharge at them.

"Move!" She shouted her warning and they dove as it hit a nearby headstone, shattering it and sending debris flying in all directions.

"Can you hear them? I can hear them all. They want through." The inhuman's voice unnerved Robbie and even May froze. Hundreds of other voices spoke with her and the Rider growled menacingly in the back of Robbie's mind. A more powerful tremor began and they saw Daisy go down. Fear crossed May's features again, but Robbie was already moving, ignoring the energy discharges and unsteadiness that came from the shaking ground.

His arms were around her waist and he was pulling her up to stand. Something was wrong. She seemed like she was in pain, but, for once, he didn't see any marks or bruises on her. Granted, she was wearing rather large and baggy clothes, so she could be hiding injuries. It was rare to see her without some evidence of a recent fight.

"Hey chica, you good?" She stiffened and turned to face him. Her eyes widened.

"Robbie?" He smiled at her, his arms still around her waist. Pain glazed over her expression and her knees threatened to buckle again.

"Hey, hey. I got you." She threw her arm over his shoulder and he could feel her gauntlet pressing into the leather of his jacket through the sleeve of her own. That explained the oversized clothing. They moved over to settle behind one of the few headstones left intact, and he lowered her down against it.

"May was trying to reach you on comms. She said you're good to engage. Something about the civilians are clear. You didn't respond." Daisy shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. He could tell she was fighting for a way to explain what was happening.

"The quakes. I can feel them." She motioned to her head, wincing in pain. As if on cue, another earthquake rattled the ground beneath them. He could feel her tremble in response. He nudged at her waist, motioning toward where May was sheltering from the energy discharges. Daisy withdrew her arm, shaking her head. She wasn't retreating. Her brown eyes steeled and she lowered her hands toward the ground, fighting for control of the vibrations. Robbie could tell she wasn't moving, so he stood upright and stepped away, all too aware of the brisk autumn air on his gloves that were now lacking her warmth.

More purple lightning flashed around, and he saw more ofrendas explode on contact. He moved forward, barely able to look at the inhuman woman. The Rider's rage burned in him and he relented. The tingling and warmth spread as the flames melted Robbie away to let the Rider take over. His chain was in his hand again, blazing and rippling the air around it. Violet eyes crackling with spiritual energy met his hollow, burning eyes. Hundreds of voices spoke again.

"Vengeance. They don't want you here. You have condemned too many. This is not the place for you. You should not have come through." The Rider glared in response, his chain flicking out, threatening. He could look at her now, with her lilac hair and dark skin. She was probably local. Robbie reminded the Rider of May's words. We're not here to eliminate the threat. Then his chain wrapped around the woman, fighting surges of her energy, trying to judge her. She laughed. Or, too many voices laughed. He could feel the Rider's flames dying down as she glowed brighter, seeming to feed off his own power. Panic flooded his senses, either his or the Rider's, he couldn't be sure.

Robbie suddenly found himself back in control as the Rider retreated to protect itself. His chain was still wound around the inhuman, with every part of her seeming to now emit the purple light. A hand rested on his shoulder. Daisy was there again, her other hand still extended to the ground, absorbing what she could of the shocks caused by the other woman, and the tear in reality she was creating. They locked eyes, and Daisy smirked at him, looking like the girl whose memory he'd survived on for the last several months while in hell. He fought to ignite his weapon once more and the inhuman grinned, almost like an addict.

Daisy clenched her jaw and raised both hands toward the woman. As the shockwaves reached the other inhuman, a piercing ringing buffeted all of them, bringing everything to a sudden stop. The woman's light flickered, Daisy collapsed, and Robbie's chain loosened with its flames out. Three shots rang out and an eerie silence settled over everything.

Robbie looked up to see May with her icer, calling into her comm for the containment unit. She walked over to them just as Daisy was able to get herself back up again.

"Really? With the two of you and everything you can do, I have to save both of your asses?" Daisy just shrugged. She turned to face Robbie.

"So, feel like coming to a Halloween party?"

**Author's Note:**

> So, yes, I am Mexican-American but I have never actually been to Mexico for the Dia de Muertos festival. I hope I did it justice.


End file.
